Phase 0 Operating Proof
Phase 0 is Mojave Gold’s disciplined first operating step at the Telegraph Mine. The purpose is not to prove the entire mineral system at once. The purpose is to convert the most important project assumptions into field evidence before larger-scale development decisions are made.
What Phase 0 is
A controlled, limited-scale operating test designed to validate mined grade, dilution, ore handling, logistics, processing compatibility, settlement mechanics, and operating costs under real field conditions.
Why it matters
Telegraph’s historical record is compelling, but Phase 0 is designed to replace assumptions with operating evidence. That evidence is expected to guide permitting, contractor planning, ore handling, processing evaluation, cost modeling, and future scale-up decisions.
- Tests selective mining and dilution control
- Validates crushing, loading, trucking, and chain-of-custody procedures
- Tests ore acceptance, sampling, assaying, and settlement mechanics
- Creates operating data before larger-scale development decisions
What it is not
Phase 0 is not a declaration of mineral resources or reserves. It is not a full mine restart. It is not intended to prove the full depth or strike potential of the Telegraph system. It is a limited operating proof step within a phased development plan.
- Not a current Mineral Resource or Mineral Reserve estimate
- Not a guarantee of future production or economics
- Not a substitute for technical diligence, permitting, or final agreements
- Not an offer to buy or sell securities
Phase 0 planning parameters
Phase 0 is designed as a limited operating test. The figures below are planning assumptions and validation targets, not production guidance, Mineral Resources, Mineral Reserves, or guarantees of future operating results.
| Parameter | Current planning target | What Phase 0 is intended to test |
|---|---|---|
| Test scale | Approximately 2,100 to 2,200 tons | Whether a limited selective-mining campaign can be executed safely, efficiently, and within the intended disturbance and operating scope |
| Mining approach | Selective mining of targeted shallow material | Whether targeted material can be mined while controlling dilution and maintaining practical contractor productivity |
| Target shipped grade | Approximately 0.34 oz Au/ton after dilution | Whether mined and shipped material reconciles with the grade assumptions used in Mojave’s Phase 0 planning model |
| Processing path | Potential offsite processing, subject to compatibility review, final agreements, and approvals | Whether Telegraph material can be accepted, sampled, processed, reconciled, and settled under a practical offsite processing framework |
| Primary output | Operating evidence | Whether Phase 0 results support, modify, delay, or reject a larger Phase 2 development decision |
The target shipped grade is an internal planning assumption derived from historical production, historical assays, surface and subsurface sampling, and Mojave’s current interpretation of selective-mining opportunities. Historical data should not be treated as current Mineral Resources or Mineral Reserves. Actual mined grade, dilution, processing results, recovery, costs, settlement results, and economics may differ materially from planning assumptions.
The operating questions Phase 0 is designed to answer
The most valuable outcome from Phase 0 is reliable operating evidence. Mojave intends to use Phase 0 to determine whether the Telegraph development model performs under actual field conditions.
Mining proof
Can selective mining deliver targeted material while controlling dilution, contractor cost, site execution, and ore movement?
- Mined grade
- Dilution control
- Mining cost per ton
- Contractor performance
- Site safety and operating controls
Logistics proof
Can Telegraph ore be handled, crushed, loaded, weighed, tracked, transported, sampled, and delivered with reliable custody control?
- Ore handling and stockpile control
- Crushing and sizing requirements
- Loading and trucking procedures
- Scale tickets and delivery records
- Chain-of-custody documentation
Processing proof
Can Telegraph ore fit a practical processing pathway, including acceptance criteria, sampling, assay reconciliation, settlement, and recovery assumptions?
- Ore compatibility
- Permit compatibility
- Sampling and assay reconciliation
- Settlement mechanics
- Processing and recovery evidence
Permitting proof
Can Mojave advance the practical approval path for limited surface mining on patented claims, including reclamation planning, financial assurances, site controls, and agency coordination?
- Reclamation plan pathway
- Financial assurance preparation
- County approval process
- Surface-disturbance controls
- Compliance execution
Cost proof
Can modeled cost assumptions be replaced with observed contractor bids, actual field costs, trucking costs, processing costs, and administrative costs?
- Mining cost per ton
- Crushing cost per ton
- Trucking cost per ton
- Processing economics
- Permitting and readiness cost
Decision proof
Can Phase 0 generate enough evidence to support a rational next-step decision, including whether to scale, pause, modify, re-sample, re-permit, or pursue alternate processing options?
- Future scale-up decision
- Updated financial model
- Refined permitting scope
- Improved contractor plan
- Improved technical diligence package
Processing pathway context
Mojave is evaluating offsite processing as part of its phased Telegraph development strategy. A potential offsite processing path may allow Mojave to test Telegraph ore without first building a standalone processing facility, subject to compatibility review, permits, final agreements, and required approvals.
Why offsite processing matters
A credible offsite processing pathway can change the development sequence. Rather than build a full standalone facility first, Mojave can seek to mine selectively, process externally if compatible, and use operating proof to guide future development decisions.
What must be proven
Phase 0 is intended to test whether Telegraph material can be accepted, sampled, assayed, transported, processed, reconciled, and settled under a practical offsite processing framework.
Current status
Any processing arrangement remains subject to technical review, permit review, final documentation, required approvals, and satisfaction of applicable operating and commercial conditions.
Processing-readiness milestones
The milestones below are intended to determine whether an offsite processing pathway can support Phase 0 operating proof.
| Milestone | Purpose | Primary issue tested |
|---|---|---|
| Technical review | Evaluate ore characteristics, handling requirements, crushing / sizing needs, and processing fit | Ore compatibility |
| Permit review | Evaluate whether proposed handling and processing fit applicable permit frameworks | Permit compatibility |
| Operating procedures | Define sampling, assaying, chain-of-custody, transport, weighing, delivery, and settlement controls | Execution reliability |
| Final documentation | Document commercial, technical, operating, compliance, rejection, delivery, and settlement requirements | Transaction execution |
Phase 0 milestone path
Mojave’s development strategy is milestone-gated. Each step is intended to reduce a specific execution risk before larger-scale development decisions are made.
| Milestone | What it proves | Primary risk reduced |
|---|---|---|
| Processing framework | Commercial, technical, and legal path for handling and processing Telegraph material | Execution risk |
| Ore and permit compatibility review | Processor acceptance path and permit fit | Processing / permit compatibility risk |
| Phase 0 approvals and readiness | Reclamation planning, financial assurances, County approval path, and operating readiness | Permitting and startup risk |
| Phase 0 operating proof | Mined grade, dilution, trucking, processing, settlement, and cost evidence | Operating-model risk |
| Resource-oriented technical work | Historical data advanced toward higher technical confidence | Resource-confidence risk |
| Future scale-up decision | Higher-tonnage development decision based on operating evidence | Scale-capital deployment risk |
Operating metrics Mojave intends to validate
Phase 0 should produce a compact but useful operating dataset. The goal is to determine whether the assumptions in Mojave’s development model are directionally supported by real operating performance.
Primary Phase 0 evidence
| Metric | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Mined grade | Determines whether selective mining can deliver the targeted ore quality |
| Dilution | Measures how much waste material enters the mined ore stream |
| Mining cost per ton | Tests contractor and field execution assumptions |
| Crushing and handling cost | Tests practical ore preparation costs before transport or processing |
| Trucking cost per ton | Tests the economics of the offsite processing model |
| Assay reconciliation | Compares Mojave sampling, delivered material, and processor assays |
| Settlement results | Tests whether commercial terms translate into expected operating outcomes |
Expected decision outputs
Phase 0 should produce a better development decision, not merely a production result. The expected output is a more defensible basis for determining how Mojave should proceed.
- Updated future mine plan assumptions
- Updated cost and logistics model
- Improved processing and settlement framework
- Better understanding of permitting and reclamation timing
- Clearer decision on whether to scale, revise, pause, or expand technical work
Why Telegraph is suitable for a Phase 0 proof approach
Telegraph combines several attributes that make a limited operating proof strategy more practical than a conventional large-capital restart strategy.
High-grade historical production
Telegraph’s historical underground production record provides direct evidence that high-grade gold mineralization was previously mined and processed. Historical data is not a current resource or reserve, but it is useful context for targeted validation.
Patented claims and project control
The core Telegraph project area consists of patented mining claims under Mojave’s long-term mineral lease, providing a clearer operating-control foundation than many early-stage exploration projects.
Vested mining-rights posture
San Bernardino County has recognized a vested mining-rights posture for the Telegraph parcels. Mining activity remains subject to applicable requirements, including reclamation planning and financial assurances.
Surface-accessible target areas
Phase 0 is intended to focus on limited, selective material rather than broad-scale excavation. That approach is consistent with testing shallow, accessible mineralized areas before larger development.
Infrastructure advantage
Telegraph’s proximity to Interstate 15 and regional mining infrastructure may reduce logistics friction relative to remote projects, subject to final road, access, permitting, and operating controls.
Potential offsite processing pathway
A potential offsite processing path may allow Mojave to test Telegraph material without first building a standalone processing facility, subject to compatibility review, permits, definitive agreements, and approvals.
Risks and limitations
Telegraph remains a mineral exploration and development project. Phase 0 is designed to reduce uncertainty, not eliminate it.
Key risks include final agreement execution, ore compatibility, permit compatibility, reclamation plan approval, financial assurance approval, mined grade variance, dilution, mining cost, crushing cost, trucking cost, processing cost, assay reconciliation, settlement mechanics, gold price, liquidity, contractor availability, regulatory timing, site access, safety performance, and availability of capital.